The present invention relates to elastic retainers which maintain filamentary materials in a wound condition on a spool or bobbin while permitting convenient removal of desired lengths of such material and rewinding of unused portions thereof.
It is often desirable to provide means for retaining filamentary materials such as thread, cord or other types of line on a spool or bobbin to prevent unwanted unwinding thereof while permitting easy withdrawal of desired lengths of the material. To this end, a number of devices or structural combinations have been proposed, some of which are particularly directed to use with fishing tackle such as leader or tippet material, the field with which the present invention is primarily concerned.
Prior art in the field of fishing tackle retainers includes Harder U.S. Pat. No. 4,883,238, wherein an elastomeric ring is employed in combination with a stud having an enlarged head, and Spencer U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,685, which utilizes ordinary rubber bands to retain the line on the spool. Prior art in related fields includes Larson U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,863, relating to a retarding element for a reel of pipe-thread sealing tape, and Hansard et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,563, relating to a retaining device for motion picture film on a reel.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved retaining element for filamentary material wound on a spool or bobbin which permits both easy removal of desired lengths of the material and rewinding of excess portions thereof.
A more specific object of the invention is to provide a simple and economical, elastic device for use with bobbins having filamentary fishing tackle materials wound thereon which retains the material in a securely wound condition while permitting fast and easy withdrawal and rewinding.
Other objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.